Letters Home
by Kawaii Snowdrop
Summary: In which Luffy sends his foster mother a gift, but doesn't think things through. Series of nakamaship drabbles.
1. Chapter 1

**This is just a cute little drabble I thought up at 11 at night (so apologies for any mistakes I might have missed). I didn't plan for it to be in Zoro's POV…it just sort of happened…**

 **It takes place sometime after the time skip (because any friends and family would've thought they were dead – or at least missing and injured – for two years).**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

It was Nami's idea. Of course it was.

"Alright! Listen up!"

The crew looked at her confused, and Zoro opened his mouth from his comfortable spot on the deck to complain - but there was something about the unusual smile on her face and the glint in her eyes that made him close his mouth. Nothing but three hundred percent interest debt came from that expression.

With the same pleasant expression that dared anyone to disagree, she handed out sheets of paper and writing tools - a seemingly generous action until Usopp realized they were his - which they accepted gingerly.

"I'm sure we all have family and nakama missing us back at home," she announced after striding back to address the whole crew, "So I thought we should write to them. It's not fair the only information they get about us is from the newspaper."

A beat and the ero-cook was all over her - with a cry of "Nami-swaaaan!" - looking quite the idiot as he exclaimed about how thoughtful and intelligent she was. Would she like a drink to refresh her throat and mind while she thought up more brilliant ideas?

Stupid love cook.

With an impatient wave of her hand and a "yes Sanji-kun," he scuttled off the kitchen. She seemed to think of something and added, "if you need help just ask," a significant glance to their captain while she did it. Said boy was looking confusedly at the paper, unsurprisingly. Most of the crew doubted he could even read.

Under the influence of the witch's expression, the crew grudgingly began to write. A exclaim of, "I'll write a _super_ letter!" was swiftly shushed.

"Hey, Nami?" a childish voice spoke up, "can I draw a picture for Doctorine instead?"

Nami's smile warmed a little, became a little more convincing, "sure Chopper, go ahead."

"Ooh ooh! Me too, me too!" Luffy cheered, looking faintly relived he didn't have to actually write. His cheeks were already stained red with thinking, "I can draw all of our adventures!"

So Nami fished out Usopp's colouring pencils - much to his horror - and soon the two youngest crew mates were happily doodling away. It was a shame anything Luffy drew was practically unrecognizable.

Zoro wasn't sure quite what to write to his former sensei, and his letter ended up being brief. Mostly it was complaining about Nami forcing him to write. The rest of the crew all managed to jot something down on their paper without too many grimaces. The witch collected their efforts in with a sunny smile - he noticed Robin and Brook exchanging letters - and busied herself attaching them to carrier pigeons she must have caught earlier. Perhaps they were just as afraid of her expression as he was.

A cry of, "wait!" and a streak of red rushed past him in the direction of the kitchen. Muffled shouts were heard and Luffy was kicked back out - landing on the deck in a rubber heap - but triumphantly holding a wrapped package. This was handed to Nami via an over-stretched arm, and she reluctantly tied it to the bird with his drawing. They all flew off, and the expression was gone. They were safe…

Raiding the alcohol cabinet sounded like a good idea.

"That brat!"

The bandits rushed to their leader's side. An opened package emitted a nauseous stench that made them back away slightly. The substance - looking somewhat like meat - was grey, fuzzy and swarming with flies. A few of them fainted at the disgusting sight.

The ones with less-sensitive noses observed that their leader wasn't even looking at the pile (of what once was probably beef) sitting unceremoniously in her lap. She was clutching a piece of paper covered in scribbles but proudly titled, "my Nakama."

Her eyes were suspiciously wet.

They quietly went back to their chores and no-one said anything when Dadan went outside to chain-smoke for a few hours.

 **I know Brook could've written a letter to Laboon, but I didn't want Robin to be excluded and for the drabble to be kinda sad.**

 **Any opinions are greatly appreciated ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok so I had a ton of ideas (like five) for these kinds of one-shots and decided to continue this.**

 **Having said that, I definitely need ideas so any requests (except pairings please, nakamaship only) are probably going to appear at some point. Please be specific though, because that helps a lot more.**

 _Summary: In which Ace survives the war, but at an almost unbearable price._

 _Rated: T_

Luffy is dying; Ace knows this much.

Ever since his brother collapsed on the run back to the Moby Dick he's had a twisting gut feeling, a primal fear flowing freely in his veins. Explosions erupt but he doesn't hear them. Screams of rage and agony melt together in the background. The ground shakes, the sky is on fire, yet the only thing Ace truly hears is Luffy's slowing breaths in his ear. The only thing he really feels is his little brother's faint heartbeat getting weaker.

So he focuses on these things. Ace is tired, Impel Down engraved in his aching muscles - but if he ignores those things to focus on the boy on his back, he can push through the pain.

Admiral Akainu is in front of them, spitting hateful things about the only father Ace has ever accepted, and for a minute his blood boils. For a second his mind wants to fight him, forget Luffy and prove him wrong. A frighteningly weak murmur of his name draws him back to the reason he was alive at this point in the first place.

Because he'd seen everything, from his elevated spot on the execution platform. He can remember every friend who died to try and save him. His wrists are raw and his shoulders ache from straining against the restraints, frantically shouting Luffy's name.

His breaths are fast and his heart hammers as his feet slap painfully against the bloodstained ground. Bodies are scattered haphazardly and the stench of the blood and sweat is suffocating.

On the ground there is a singed picture of a woman and her child.

His surrogate family surround them, giving them protection from all sides. They call out to the Whitebeard pirates, telling them to retreat. The ship is close, a miracle as Luffy is now groaning in pain.

His skin is losing heat, his body becoming heavier, so Ace shifts his brother from his back and into his arms, tucking his head flush against his neck. Luffy's complexion has paled, an ash tinge to it he never had before. His legs burn from running yet he pushes harder, surging up the gangplank and rushing to the infirmary.

A startled yet joyful cry of, "Ace!" and he's dumping Luffy in the nurse's arms, bowing his head and clenching his fists.

"Please...save him! He's my irreplaceable little brother!"

The nurse looks alarmed and lays the boy - for he is far too young to be barging into wars and saving people - down on a free bed and checks his vitals. Her hand freezes over his neck for a fraction of a second and then she's screaming for backup, pumping his chest with interlaced hands.

For the first time since he's been unlocked from the seastone cuffs - _Luffy freed him_ \- a rush of cold splashes down his neck, numbing his senses and muffling the sounds of "I'm losing him".

Swarms of nurses rush past him, crowding around Luffy; sticking tubes in his wrists, metal plates ready to be pressed on his chest, all the while Ace can't move a muscle. Someone grabs his arm, tugs him away and while he wants to stay, knows the inevitable agony of not knowing if his brother is alive if he leaves - he feels his feet stumble out of the room.

There is a jolt as the Moby Dick sets sail, the cold unnoticed by his devil fruit powers. Hands on his shoulders push him to sit on the deck, a mug of strong liquor nudged into his hands.

"You know, if you share a drink, you can become brothers," Ace says humourlessly as Marco then sits beside him. Crew mates rush to tend to the ship; rush to escape the distant screams; the memories that will become nightmares; escape to fulfill their father's final wish.

"It's not your fault, yoi," Marco sighs as if anticipating what Ace is going to say.

"Then why do I feel so damn guilty?" his voice cracks, and he buries his head in his hands, the sake soaking into the floorboards. They sit in silence until dusk comes, the first division commander silently supporting the second. Occasionally a nurse will rush past carrying bloodstained bandages from one of the many injured, reminding them of what they lost.

The stars appear, the sea is lit up by the moon and eventually Ace can't stand it. Charging back into the infirmary, he's afraid of what he'll see. The view does not disappoint.

Luffy is in a spider web of tubes, a mask pumping oxygen into his lungs. The only inches of skin not wrapped in bandages is parts of his face and his hair. Some of the cloth is discoloured by blood. With a sound close to a whimper, Ace gets as close as he can without aggravating the only things keeping his baby brother from dying.

And slowly but surely, he feels something precious inside break.

 **When I wrote this I had half a mind to kill Luffy off...whoops :/**

 **I am thinking of writing a second part to this, in Luffy's POV, but only if people want it - so let me know!**

 **Please give your honest opinions in reviews so that I can improve!**

 **Kawaii Snowdrop xx**


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